The hunt for the “murderer of the Cévennes” This Thursday takes on another dimension with the call for witnesses launched in the early morning by the Gard gendarmerie. On social networks, a photo of the man is published with his name: Valentin Marcone. He is heavily armed and has been hiding, according to the gendarmerie, in the Cévennes forest for 48 hours, after killing his boss and one of his colleagues in the sawmill where he was employed in the small village of Plantiers (barely 300 inhabitants). The town has been surrounded and secured by the gendarmes since Tuesday.
The suspect grew up in the village of Moussac, the inhabitants are stunned. They evoke a withdrawn and helpful child, with a taste for nature.
Father’s message
At the beginning of the afternoon, the gendarmes communicated the vibrant appeal from father to son, on the run, to surrender.
“Valentine is daddy, I love you, we love you, (…) we are all with you, kisses, daddy“. These words, in the voice of Frédéric, the father of the fugitive, are in the possession of the gendarmerie. The father of the family calls his son to surrender. The message could be decisive in a negotiation of the GIGN with the shooter, for the push to put an end to his flight and lower his arms.
Rifle shots heard
Around 12:45 p.m., rifle shots were heard. “A dozen” according to the mayor of Saint-André-de-Valborgne, who had the information but did not hear them himself. The departmental road 907 is cut off from the Bourgnolle bridge, near Saumane, to Saint-André-de-Valborgne. Gendarmes cordoned off the area.
The original idea of the gendarmerie was that the alleged murderer had fled into the forest A perimeter of 15 square km clearly delimited, and searched for two days. But time is running out. And now there is a new hypothesis: the runaway may have managed to escape and get out of the perimeter, unless, again, it is far from the beginning, since the double homicide Tuesday morning.
The call for witnesses
On the picture, we can see a man with a very young appearance, very short brown hair, thin glasses, European type, about 1 m 70, and of average build He appears dressed in a green fatigues and a camouflage jacket with hood.
The gendarmes are also very clear, they insist: In any case, the possible witnesses must not intervene themselves. Man is very dangerous: “Suspected of carrying a handgun (the one with which he would have killed his two colleagues with several bullets in the head on Tuesday morning) and a precision rifle“.
The only reflex to have: immediately notify the Gard gendarmerie. The steep, mountainous and wooded search area had so far been extended to “a quadrilateral of 15 square kilometers“.
Four exfiltrated families
Around noon this Thursday, four families were exfiltrated. There are no children among these people. They could be protected families, they could be targeted for neighborhood affairs according to information from FB Gard Lozère.
“We exfiltrated four potentially targeted families. Elders, young people, between 30 and 60 years old. Potentially targeted because perhaps there was a dispute that I do not know”, Bernard Mounier, the mayor of Plantiers, on France Info.
For residents, the atmosphere is heavy. France Bleu Gard Lozère was able to reach Barbara, a resident of Plantiers. Caulked at home, she witnesses the comings and goings of the gendarmes and helicopters all day. “It’s not possible to do that. The boss of the company, I know him well, his employee, I know him very, very well, he’s the son of a friend of mine. And the shooter, cheap, he screwed up his family (..). I’m in pain, I’m in pain, I’m staying home but I’m scared, I’m really scared“.
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